A Greater Britain? (part 2 and final) by David Scholes

Chequers (British Prime Minister's Country Estate)
England
Late May 1945

"I'm sorry things didn't work out so well for you George" said a rich upper class English voice.

"That's all right Prime Minister" responded Patton "I'm glad that you Brits at least got a bit of a chance to kick some Russian ass." "If only you had been born an Englishman George" said Tittington "We could have made very good use of you."

"For all of his name and accent, the bastard's no more English than I am" thought Patton smiling inwardly "still you've got to admire him, whoever or whatever he really is."

"What an odd circumstance" thought one of Tittington's aides "old blood and guts himself sipping tea with Tittington here at Chequers."

The South China Sea
Two Months Earlier

The great capital ships passed each other without undue ceremony. HM carriers Illustrious and Indomitable and two "Cagey5" (as the Americans referred to them) class battleships heading to support the Singapore invasion. Going in the opposite direction HMS LeighMallory fourth and newest of the Vanguard class battleships headed to join the British Pacific Fleet. With her the brand new HMS Winston Churchill first of the magnificent "Malta" class aircraft carriers and pride of the Royal Navy.

As the LeighMallory passed the King George V and Howe – every seaman on it's decks saluted. Although the LeighMallory was bigger, faster and more modern there was a lot of respect in the RN especially for the King George V herself. She had been there with the Rodney when they had battered the Bismarck into a blazing hulk. She had been in the North Atlantic, in the Med in support of the Sicily and Italian landings and in support of the Russian convoys, and more recently with the British Pacific Fleet – a distinguished career if ever there was one.

"Thank goodness Tittington, who was only a junior Minister at the time, had ensured that the KG5's had 16inch guns – those penny pinching fools at Treasury would have left her half naked with 14inch guns to save money' thought Vice-Admiral Rawlings now transferring to the British Indian Ocean fleet for the Singapore operation.

The sailors heading to Singapore couldn't help but notice the jet fighters on the Winston Churchill. They looked like a naval fighter bomber version of the Gloster Meteor. The more observant of the men noticed something else, two very handsome looking swept wing aircraft. Experimentals perhaps, definitely jets. The aircraft had already seen service in raids over Singapore.

Atomic Research Facility
Aldermaston, England
Late February 1945

Tittington spent all that evening and through into the small hours of the morning going over the progress towards Britain's A bomb. They were getting quite close and the scientists arriving back from America would help. The newer scientists were stunned at their Prime Ministers knowledge of physics. The older ones knew better.

Theoretical discussions in cabinet and with combined chiefs of staff on if and when the bomb might be used were becoming less theoretical.